Lawnmowers are both residentially and commercially used for cutting grass. A major benefit of certain lawnmowers is that they may additionally pick-up leaves and/or other debris in the process, leaving a yard with a generally clean and kept appearance without the need to rake or blow the leaves out of the yard. As is known in the art, rotary lawnmowers generally include one or more blades positioned within a housing, or deck, and a motor in mechanical communication with the one or more blades. The motor may be configured to rotate the blades about an axis. When rotated, the one or more blades define a cutting area. Certain lawnmowers may further include a means for collecting grass clippings and any leaves or other debris that pass underneath the deck of the lawnmower within the cutting area of the one or more blades.
The lawnmower deck generally includes an outer periphery that surrounds the one or more blades. For a variety of reasons, the shape of the lawnmower deck, and more particularly, the outer periphery of the lawnmower deck, is generally known to conform closely to the cutting area defined by the one or more lawnmower blades. For example, such a conformed design may decrease the risk of injury to a user or bystander by preventing, e.g., a user's hands or feet from entering into the cutting area of the blades. Additionally, by conforming closely to the cutting area of the blades, the mower deck may provide a desirous air flow within the interior of the deck to more effectively collect grass clippings, leaves, and other debris that pass thereunder.
However, certain problems may exist with such a configuration. For example, the cutting area of the blades is generally circular, and thus the outer periphery of the lawnmower deck is generally circular as well. Therefore, in certain situations, for example when a large amount of leaves or other debris are present, the leaves may bunch up at a front of the deck and be diverted around a side of the deck instead of passing underneath the deck to be picked up by the lawnmower. With such a construction, it may therefore be required for the lawnmower to make multiple passes over the yard in order to effectively remove a desired amount of leaves or other debris.
Accordingly, an apparatus for minimizing the amount of leaves and other debris that are diverted around the sides of the deck of a lawnmower would be beneficial. More particularly, an apparatus for minimizing the amount of leaves and other debris that are diverted around the sides of the deck of a lawnmower while still allowing the deck to conform closely to the cutting area of the blades would be particularly useful.